February 8, 2007

Anyone else think today’s initial artist announcement containing the lengthy list of 1,000 acts that’ll perform at the March 14-18 SXSW festival in Austin serves more as blatant comedic fodder than it does to build excitement?

I’m not taking anything away from the lineup by any means, it’s just that one quick glimpse of the roster…shit, the list has four bands from three different countries with names based on the word Panda, there’s Child Abuse, Dead Child and Children Collide, Psychedelic Horseshit, Holy Fuck and Holy Shit!, Lesbians on Ecstasy, and my personal favorite, This Moment in Black History.

What? SXSW couldn’t snare Womb Raider, Third Hand Smoke, Stabbing Monica Seles, Schlongstein & the Well-Hung Jews, or Pontius Pilate & the Nail-Driving Five? You know, a snarky music blogger could probably trek down to the Tejas capital, eschew the recognizable names, see only bands with clever monikers like those above and come away with the absolute best review of the festival. Hmm.

A bit more seriously, the list of performers is as impressive as it is long. It’s gonna be a helluva week down in Austin, 60 stages of every genre imaginable. Read on for the complete list of bands in today’s initial artist announcement…

2007 has started off with a bang for fans of bands that have broken up. Reunion Mania has taken over the rock world, with everyone from America to Zero getting in on the act. I’m not satisfied: I want more reunions. So this week’s B List features eight more bands that need to get in on the great money grab of 2007:

1. God Street Wine: Fuck Phish, if any more jambands are planning to reunite, I’d like to see God Street Wine get back together. As I mentioned in last week’s Grousing The Aisles, both Ace and I are huge fans of this dynamic band that added a little soul to the improv scene.

2. Blind Faith: Eric Clapton has run out of bands to reunite. Cream had a successful run of shows in 2005, and Clapton is currently on the road with Derek Trucks playing a bunch of Derek and the Dominos songs. Steve Winwood is in a similar predicament with the passing of Jim Capaldi. Blind Faith’s bass player Ric Grech has passed on, but Ginger Baker can still play (for the moment). I’d love to see these three men reform Blind Faith before they wind up in nursing homes.

3. Talking Heads: If The Police can put aside their animosity towards each other for a reunion, why can’t the Talking Heads? I think all the hipsters would faint at the sight of Tina Weymouth on stage again with David Byrne. Imagine the setlist the reunited Heads could put together? I’d love to see the band put aside their differences and score one of the biggest paydays in the history of rock and roll.

Read on for the other five bands that need to reunite this year….

The most talked about event in New York City last night involved Andy Samberg joining Justin Timberlake on the Madison Square Garden stage for a live rendition of the duo’s